See Also

Facebook knows a lot about each of its users, of course, and it offers you options to make your account as private as possible. But that doesn't stop advertisers from drawing data from the social network, and using it to target you with ads.

Last week, a new company, Likester, launched "Likester AdCenter," a tool that analyzes the vast trove of data that Facebook generates from people hitting the "Like" button—750 million likes and counting. Here's how founder Kevin McCarthy says it works:

You can put any company into the Likester search engine, and learn a tremendous amount about that company’s fans, including what books they read, TV shows they watch, movies they watch, and other companies that they like, and so on.

We gave McCarthy a sample list of interesting companies—Walmart, Lululemon, Starbucks, etc.—and asked him to show us what the Likester database reveals about you when you "like" any of those brands.

The results are both surprising and depressing. Who knew that Stride Gum and Lynyrd Skynyrd were so popular among shoppers? On the other hand, all the stereotypes about fans of Harley Davidson and Pabst Blue Ribbon seem to be true—they like Larry the Cable Guy and The Melvins, respectively.

And you won't believe the ugly truth about Yankees and Red Sox fans ...

If you like Walmart, you might also like black actors, country singers and Megan Fox.

Walmart has 16,438,404 likes, more than most brands. It's not too surprising that people who like Walmart are 91 times more likely to also like Febreze and 87 times more likely also like Lysol.

Oddly, they're also 6.5 times more likely than average to also like Megan Fox. Black actors and country and western singers also index more highly with Walmart likers than other entertainers.

Here's a selection of brands Walmart's fans are more likely to favor. The numbers represent how many times more likely it is that a Walmart liker has also hit "Like" for the named brand:

Stride Gum 71

The Hollywood Gossip 69

JustMySize (a plus-size clothing brand) 67

Trace Adkins 38

Reba McEntire 37

Bernie Mac 35

Bret Michaels 33.4

Jada Pinkett Smith 29

Sanaa Lathan 23

Taraji Henson 23

Ashton Kutcher 11

Will Smith 10.5

But ... Walmart likers are only 6.5 times more likely than average to also like Megan Fox.

If you like Lululemon, you might also like The New York Post, puppies and these obscure twin models.

The Talley Twins / Facebook

Lululemon has 623,297 likes on Facebook. Fans of the cult-like yoga brand are very specific about their likes—most of their cross-referenced likes went to other yoga and fitness brands. Here are the more quirky brands on their radar:

If you like Starbucks, you might also like Barbie, Wet Seal and Hello Kitty.

Wet Seal / Facebook / Screengrab

Starbucks, which has 30,443,461 likes, is pretty much for girls, according to Likester's data:

Tubing 18

Barbie 17

Wet Seal 15

Batman 15

Trident Chewing Gum 15

Hot Topic 14

Dairy Queen 13

Juicy Couture 13

Hello Kitty 12

If you like Pabst Blue Ribbon, you might be an aging hipster who likes Minor Threat and the Melvins.

Melvins

PBR fans seem to be every bit the hipster stereotypes you'd think they are. Their likes are achingly trendy—and as predictable as the watery beer itself.

Note, however, the advanced age of some their choices—Minor Threat, The Melvins, Kids in the Hall and John Waters were all big in the eighties. Looks like PBR's core fanbase is with aging hipsters, not millennials ...

Miller High Life 241

The Melvins 141

Inked Magazine 134

Fat Tire 126

Nick Swardson 123

Reverend Horton Heat 122

Patton Oswalt 122

Thrasher Magazine 96

Minor Threat 94

Kids in the Hall 86

John Waters 83

Not Listening to Nickelback 81

If you like Harley Davidson, you might also like drinking bourbon and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

If you like American Apparel, you are painfully trendy.

American Apparel has had its ups and downs, but its 907,715 core fans on Facebook have extremely discerning, cutting edge taste. The clothing chain might be trendier—and have a stronger brand—than you'd think.

Clark Magazine 196 (French culture magazine)

Elena Gallen 181 (Spanish designer)

Facehunter 169 (fashion/model blog)

Rossy De Palma 88 (a Spanish actress often described as a Picasso come to life)

Mary-Kate Olsen 85

Vincent Gallo 53

We Are Underage 151

The Teenagers 132

If you like the New York Yankees you're 15 times more likely to also like the Boston Red Sox.

The Yankees have 5,678,302 likes, but it appears some of their fans don't either understand baseball or don't understand what the "Like" button is for. Yankees fans are 15 times more likely than the average Facebook user to also be Red Sox fans.

Also, note the Walmart-Yankees-Stride Gum crossover.

Not Giving a Fuuck 34

Stride Gum 33

Dale Earnhardt Jr 29

Triple H 26

Cookie Dough 22

ooVoo 19

Captain Morgan 19

Fandango 17

Boston Red Sox 15

If you like the Red Sox, you're 15 times more likely to also like the Yankees.